Planetary gearing



Dec. 16, 1952 RATH PLANETARY GEARING Filed Sept. 22, 1949 IN V EN TOR.

Patented Dec. 16, 1952 PLANETARY GEARING Karl Rath, New York, N. Y.,

Corporation, Virginia assignor to Hupp Cleveland, Ohio, a; corporation of Application September 22, 1949, Serial No. 117,116

7 Claims.

1 The present invention relates to window regulators, more particularly, though not exclusively, to regulators for use in motor vehicles of the general type disclosed in co-pending U. S. patent application Ser. No. 790,783, filed December 10, 1947 by Peter F. Rossmann, entitled Window Operating Device for Vehicles and assigned to the assignee of the present application.

There is shown and described in the above application a combined manual and/or automatic window control device, comp'risinga planetary gear assembly having a pair of side gears and a rotatable carrier cooperating with said side gears through one or more planet gears. The carrier is in driving connection with the window operating mechanism, while the side gears are in driving connection with the manual and automatic driving means in the form of a hand crank or operating handle and an electric motor, respectively. The connection between the handle and its associated side gear includes a one-way spring or friction clutch serving for the double purpose of locking the window during the manual operation and preventing it from reacting upon the handle by virtue of its own weight or gravity, on

the one hand, and of acting as a locking means during the motor driven operation for the planetary gear assembly, to enable power to be transmitted from the motor to the window. Similar- 1y, an additional one-way coupling device, preferably in the form of a worm gear transmission, is connected between the motor and its associated side gear to preventdirect power transmission from the hand crank to the motor shaft, on the one hand, and to lock the window against reaction upon the motor during the power driven operation.

In other words, both one-way coupling means, i. e. the spring clutch, on the one hand, and the worm gear transmission, on the other hand, are alternately efiective, i. e. during both the manual and motor driven operations of the window, in preventing the window from reacting upon the driving members (handle, motor) due to its own weight or gravity, and acting as a locking means for the idle or stationary element of the planetary gear drive, to allow of power transmission from the operative input element of the planetary assembly to the window. As a result, the window may be operated optionally either manually and/or automatically in the same or opposite directions, substantially without any interaction between the operating members and without requiring any adjustments or switch-over operations, when changing from one to the other mode of operation. This, in turn results in full operating safety as well as reliability of the window control, including'cases of accident, exhaustion of the car battery and other emergencies when the automatic system has become defective or inoperative.

The present invention relates to an improved structure for a multiple control device of the above type, combining the planetary gear assembly, the manual operating member and the electric switch for the motor control into a single and compact unit.

Among the more specific objects of the invention is the provision of a multiple control device of the above character for operating a window both manually and/or automatically, which is both simple and compact in design; in which both the manual operating member and the electric switch for controlling the motor are combined into a single structural unit; which can be readily and easily adapted for mounting in existing motor car doors where mounting space is limited; and

which is inconspicuous or free from parts projecting from the wall of a car door.

The above and further objects and novel aspects of the invention will be better understood from the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, forming part of this specification and in which:

Fig. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a multiple Window control device constructed in accordance with the principles of the invention;

Figures 2 and 3 are sectional views, taken on lines 2-2 and 3--3, respectively, of. Fig. 1; and

Fig. 4 is a schematic assembly view showing, by way of example, an automobile door equipped with a window regulator according to the invention.

Like reference numerals identify like parts or elements in the diiierent views of the drawing.

Referring to Figures 1-3, the numeral Ill indicates a wing or key forming a manual operating member'which may be folded flat against the wall ll of a car door or the like and which is combined with an electric control switch [2 for operating an electric motor, to provide a simple and inconspicuous operating unit.

The switch l2 which may be of any suitable type is secured to the front end of a tubular or hollow cylindrical support 13 whose rear end is attached to the housing l4 enclosing the device and in turn being mounted upon or secured to the inside of the door I I, in the manner shown in the drawing. Tube I3 serves as a support or shaft for both the one-way spring or friction clutch I 5,

i6 of the planetary gear assembly. The latter furthermore comprises one or more planet gears 23 rotatably supported by the carrier H by means of shafts or pins 24 and a ring gear 25 concentric to and of greater diameter than said sun gear and having internal teeth, said planet gears meshing with both said sun and ring gears, as shown in the drawing. The ring gear 25 is provided with worm teeth upon its periphery meshing with a worm gear 2E connectable to an electric driving motor, as more clearly shown in Fig. 4. The planetary carrier I! which may be a solid disc or in the form of a spider is in turn connected to the driving gear or pinion 2? meshing with the control gear or sector 28 of a window control mechanism of standard construction.

Referring to Fig. 4, there is shown schematically a window control mechanism according to the invention mounted within an automobile door and comprising a multiple drive or coupling device according to the invention. Numeral 3!! represents the door, 3| is the window frame and 32 a window pane, the latter being mounted upon a support or channel member 33. Member 33 serves as a guide for a pair of rollers 34 which are attached to the ends of links 35 each of which is connected to one of a pair. of control or operating gears or sectors 28 arranged in mutual meshing relation. One of the gears 28 corresponds to the gear 28 of Fig.1 and meshes with the gear 21 of the multiple drive regulator. Item 35 represents an electric motor driving the worm gear 26 through a shaft 31 and an overload or slip clutch 38, as described in greater detail in the above-mentioned co-pending application.

If desirable, the slip clutch 38 may be omitted when using a self-centering control switch, in which case the operator will automatically release the switch and allow it to return to its normal or central position, as soon as the window has arrived at one of its end positions.

The motor may be started to rotate in either direction by connecting it to the current source 40, such as a car battery, by means of the switch l2, in a manner readily understood. As is understood, the motor may be of the type having separate direct and reverse windings, as assumed in the drawing or a motor with a single winding and a polarity reversing control switch may be used, as is well known in the art.

The one-way spring clutch I5 may be of any known type and essentially comprises a pair of input and output clutch elements 2% and 22 provided with interengaging sector-shaped axial extensions M and 42, respectively, a coil spring 43 having hooked ends 4-5 engaging radial gaps between said extensions and a housing 45 frictionally engaged by said spring, as shown more clearly in Fig. 2. As a result, rotation of the input element 28 by themanual operating key it will cause the clutch spring 43 to be contracted and released from said housing, thus allowing rotary motion to be transmitted freely to the out put element and in turn to the window control gear 21 by way of the sun gear l6, planet gears 23 revolving upon ring gear 25, and carrier ll. Ring gear 23 during this operation is locked or held stationary by the worm gear drive constituting a one-way coupling between the motor and gear assembly. In a similar manner, the spring clutch acts as a locking means for the inner sun gear during the motor driven operation of the window.

In an arrangement of the above described type, both the one-way spring clutch l5 and the worm gear drive 25, 2B serve to perform the double and alternate functions of preventing the window from reacting uponthe driving means or operating members due to its own weight or gravity during both the manual and power driven operations, as well as of locking the sun gear 16 and ring gear 25 of the multiple differential coupling or gear assembly during the automatic and manual operation of the window, respectively. As will be understood, the functions of the carrier I1 and ring gear 25 may be interchanged without essentially altering the results, i. e. b driving the carrier I! by the motor through a suitable one-way coupling device, such as a worm gear transmission, and by manually operating the window by Way of the ring gear 25 and a suitable one-way coupling such as a friction or spring clutch of the type described.

There is thus provided by the invention a simple and compact multiple differential coupling device embodying both the manual (hand crank, folding key) and automatic (control switch) operating means in a single unit, suitable for mounting in existing motor car doors. More specifically, the structural combination of the electric control switch, the spring clutch and planetary gear assembly mounted upon a common tubular support, .has the advantage of facilitating the mounting of the electric conductors between the switch and the motor, on the one hand, and the battery, on the other hand, in the manner shown and readily understood from the above.

While there has been shown and described a desirable embodiment of the invention, it is understood that this disclosure is for the purpose of illustration and that various changes in the shape, size and arrangement of parts, as well as the substitution of equivalent elements for those herein shown, may be made without departing from the broader scope and spirit of the invention, as set forth in the appended claims. The specification and drawing are accordingly to be regarded in an illustrative rather than in a limiting sense.

I claim:

1. In a window regulator including operating mechanism for controlling a window, multiple difierential drive means for optionally operating said mechanism by manual and/or automatic driving means, comprising a stationary support, an electric switch concentric to and secured to one end of said support, a one-way spring clutch having input and output elements rotatably mounted upon said support, a sun gear rotatable upon said support and driven by said output element, a ring gear having concentrically disposed internal and external gear teeth, a differential carrier also rotatable upon said support and adapted for driving said mechanism, at least one planet gear rotatably supported by said carrier and meshing with both said sun and ring gears, a manual operating member concentrically surrounding said switch, a sleeve encircling said switch and connecting said operating member with said input element, and an external gear meshing with said worm teeth for driving said ring gear when an electric motor to be controlled by said switch is connected thereto.

2. In a window regulator including operating mechanism for controlling a Window, multiple differential drive means for optionally operating said mechanism manually and/or automatically, comprising a stationary support, an electric switch concentric and secured to one end of said support, a one-way spring clutch having input and output elements rotatably mounted upon said support, a sun gear rotatable upon said support and driven by said output element, a ring gear having internal teeth, a differential carrier also rotatable upon said support and adapted for driving said mechanism, at least one planet gear rotatably supported by said carrier and meshing with said sun and ring gears, a manual operating member concentric to said switch, a sleeve surrounding said switch and connecting said operating member with said input element, and means for driving said ring gear.

3. In a window regulator including operating mechanism for controlling a window, multiple differential drive means for optionally operating said mechanism manually and/or automatically comprising a stationary support, an electric switch concentric and secured to one end of said support, a one-way spring clutch having input and output elements rotatably mounted upon said support, a sun gear rotatable upon said support and driven by said output member, said spring clutch being disposed between said switch and said sun gear, a ring gear having concentrically disposed internal and external gear teeth, a differential carrier also rotatable upon said support and adapted for driving said mechanism, at least one planet gear rotatably supported by said carrier and meshing with both said sun and ring gears, a manual operating member concentrically surrounding said switch, a sleeve surrounding said switch and connecting said operating member with said input element, and a worm gear meshin with said external teeth, for driving said rin gear when an electric motor to be controlled by said switch is connected thereto.

4. In an attachment for a Window regulator, a stationary support, an electric switch concentric and secured to said support, a one-way spring clutch having interlocking input and output elements rotatably supported by said extension, a clutch spring having hooked ends engaging radial gaps between said extensions and a housing secured to said support and frictionally engaging said spring, whereby to allow of rotary motion to be transmitted from said input element to said output element by release of said spring from said housing and to prevent transmission in the reverse direction by clamping said spring against said housing, a sun gear rotatable upon said extension and driven by said output element, a ring gear having internal teeth, a difierential carrier also rotatable upon said extension means on said carrier for operating a window regulator, at least one planet gear rotatably supported by said carrier and meshing with both said sun and ring gears, a manual operating member, a sleeve surrounding said switch and connecting said operating member with said input element, and means for driving said ring gear.

5. In a window regulator including operating mechanism for controlling a window, multiple difierential drive means for optionally controlling said window manually and/or automatically,

comprising a stationary support having a tubular extension, a circular electric switch concentric and secured to the free end of said support, a one-way spring clutch having interlocking input and output elements rotatable upon said extension, a clutch spring having hooked ends engaging radial gaps between said elements and a housing secured to said support and frictionally engaging said spring, whereby to allow a rotary motion to be transmitted from said input element to said output element by release of said spring from said housing and to prevent transmission in the reverse direction by clamping of said spring against said housing, a sun gear rotatable upon said extension and driven by said output element, a ring gear having concentrically disposed internal and external gear teeth, a differential carrier also rotatable upon said extension and adapted for driving said mechanism, at least one planet gear rotatably supported by said carrier and meshing with both said sun and ring gears, a manual operating member concentric to said switch, a sleeve surrounding said switch and connecting said operating member with said input element, and a worm gear meshing with said external teeth for driving said ring gear when a motor is attached thereto and controlled by said switch.

6. In a window regulator including operating mechanism for controlling a window, multiple differential drive means for optionally operating said mechanism manually and/or automatically, a stationary housing having a front wall provided with an openeng and a rear wall, a tubular support transverse and secured to said rear wall opposite to said opening, an electric switch within said opening and secured to the free end of said support, a one-way spring clutch having input and output elements rotatably mounted upon said support, a sun gear rotatable upon said support and driven by said output element, a ring gear having internal teeth, a differential carrier also rotatable upon said support and adapted for driving said mechanism, at least one planet gear rotatably supported by said carrier and meshing with both said sun and ring gears, a concentric sleeve surrounding said switch and having one end connected to said input element, a manual operating member concentric to said switch and collapsibly secured to the opposite end of said sleeve to be folded against and raised from said front wall, and means for driving said ring gear in a manner to prevent said ring gear from being driven when said ring gear driving means is stationary.

7. In a window regulator including operating mechanism for controlling a window, multiple differential drive means for optionally controlling said window manually and/or automatically, comprising a stationary housing having a front wall provided with an opening and a rear wall, a tubular support transverse and secured to said rear wall opposite to said opening, a circular electric switch within said opening and secured to the free end of said support, a oneway spring clutch having input andputput elements rotatably mounted upon said support, a sun gear rotatable upon said support between said spring clutch and said rear wall and connected to said output element, a ring gear having concentrically disposed internal and external gear teeth, a differential carrier also rotatable upon said support and adapted for driving said mechanism, at least one planet gear rotatably supported by said carrier and meshing with both said sun and ring gears, a concentric sleeve surrounding said switch and having one end connected to said input element, a manual operating member collapsibly secured to the opposite end of said sleeve surrounding said switch, to be folded against and raised from said front wall, an electric driving motor, a Worm gear driven by said motor and meshing with said external teeth of said ring gear, and electric conductor means passing through said support and connecting said motor with said switch. KARL RATH.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

5 UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,157,307 Henderson Oct. 19, 1915 1,263,125 Sawyer Apr. 16, 1918 10 2,437,646 Matulaitis Mar. 9, 1945 

